Creating albums

[moneypenny02]

Hi,
I have been interested in graphic design for a while--as well as amateur photography--but I am now thinking about starting an album design business. I don't have formal photography training, but I would like to learn about how I need to prepare files (e.g. photoshop or InDesign) in order to make sure that I get the best quality print possible.

Where can I learn about properly setting up files to print?

Specifically the first thing I want to know is this: I have pictures that are 250 dpi. How should I setup the photoshop canvas or indesign document? Can I set it up as 300 dpi? (All of the pictures will be resized much smaller than they were originally taken -- all were taken with a 5D Mark II). -- But I want to learn more generally as well.

Thanks for any guidance!!

[lonni]

You are getting into very spe******ed work here and you need to know what you are doing, but with time you can learn it.

I am a graphic designer, for over 10 years mainly designing for print, and we run our own printing business so i can give you a few tips but i would recommend finding a good book or even course to help you.

You need to have a good knowledge of photoshop, illustrator or indesign. I would reccommend Photoshop for photo editing and layout, as most companies printing albums, my own included, have their own pdf distiller that will colate spreads into books. I also find that i sometimes have troubles going from iddesign to PDF, for some reason the firey (print server) mucks it up.

Each printing company has its own file preperation guide lines and will be annoyed if you break them, your albums will look crapy too.

As a general rule any file prepared for print will need to be made in CMYK, 300dpi and have at least a 3mm bleed and about a 3mm buffer zone where no important information should go. You will also need to work in 1:1 ratio.

Each company, or at least any worth dealing with, will have its own colour profile so you can get your monitor clibrated and set up right. This is very importatnt and will impact the final product.

If you have photoshop their help fiels are really good, Start by reading through as much of it as you can. You will be able to find out about resizing there, it will explain it better than i can too.

I always make a copy of the image, resize it them move it to my album layout. Always work from the original, i dont know why your images would be 250dpi.

Are you asking how to actually set up the fiels, as in where do you set the properties, or do you just want guide lines. Dumb question i know but you should see the number of tafe and Uni work experience irls who dont know where to set teh dpi in photshop.

HTH, let m eknow if there are wny more q's

[moneypenny02]

Thank you for your reply!

I am more than happy to take the time to learn, but I just don't know where to look. I know or can find out how to change various settings, but I want to learn what the ideal settings are for formatting to print. Even if I don't end up doing album design professionally, I definitely want to make sure that what I create for myself and friends and family is good quality.

Do you suggest any books or online resources that would help me learn what considerations need to go into formating the files? (Not talking about gutters or margins or anything like that -- that would vary depending on the printer.)

Another question re: photoshop v. InDesign - I originally started designing layouts with photoshop, but once I started using InDesign I preferred it much more -- especially when doing more magazine style layouts (meaning significant text as well as the graphics) than just photo spreads. I have noticed that most companies have more support for psd files. There is also no way that I know of to open indesgn files in photoshop. Would exporting as a high quality .jpg to upload the files or opening those jpgs in the properly-formatted photoshop space AND THEN uploading the psd file be good solutions? I am worried the latter may result in losing too much data at the point that it would compromise the image, but is that not the case?

[Photologyst]

I am also a designer who uses the whole Adobe Creative Suite as well as Lightroom, Photoshop and a number of other programs.

I concur with what lonni has told you. I would also suggest that you sign up for InDesign’s magazine: Adobe InDesign CS4 and CS5 Tutorials, Templates from InDesign Magazine


They have a design tips email newsletter as well. It’s free.

Lightroom is fantastic and I use it almost exclusively for cataloging and general photo adjustments. Very fast compared to PS. LR also has a lesser learning curve than Photoshop, however, you can’t do special editing in that program. For that you need PS, Elements, GIMP or some other major editing program.

An easy way to get started with producing books is to check out the many photo/book publishing programs/companies online. They all instruct how to prep your photos. Many want sRGB format at 300dpi. Always make test prints first at home and with the company that will produce the book.

Here’s a great review on the many photo/book programs available: Digital Home Thoughts: The Great Photo Book Round-Up Review: Who Makes The Best Photo Books?

There are tons of tutorials online of which you should take advantage. Photos are always prepped first and then placed into the design program.

[mad editor]

I use photoshop and indesign in my work - I do public relations for an opera company. I also do many different brochures, programs and catalogs (much like four-color magazine work). The two programs fit together like a glove. Must have all photos CMYK as was stated above. I use 300 dpi for my photos and always save as a high quality pdf for printing purposes. You can indicate full bleed and other printers marks before you create the pdf. works really well. I LOVE In-Design!

[AnneWynne]

Check out digital scrapbooking sites as well. While they don't get into the technical aspects, there are a lot of great design and journaling ideas for scrapbooks and scrapbook pages. A lot of the design work has been done, and, if you are thinking about doing something as a business, if you have not already found them, you can see what others are doing.

Lots of free downloads as well, from papers, backgropunds, templates, quick page kits, embellishments, and tons more. I use a lot of the elements in designing my marketing materials and have had a lot of fun with it.

Hope this helps.

[photobookgirl]

Hi all, I write a blog on photo books and I enjoyed reading everyone's comments. Though I started my blog earlier this year, I've been making them for about 5 years now and I review a lot of the photo book companies out there. I write tips on creating your own photobooks as well as finding deals and coupons on photo books.

I haven't used InDesign before, but I've designed my own layouts with QuarkXPress and Adobe Photoshop for past books. Many of the companies keep upgrading their free software, which is great for the average user and many now have very sophisticated design features. But, in my opinion photo editing is still best done outside the free software provided. From what I've tried so far, I'd say AdoramaPix and Photobook America offer tools most similar to what you'd be used to with external design programs, but naturally the outside programs give you the most flexibility.

If you'd like to see some of my tips on creating photo books I have a series that I've begun on how to make your own photo book . It's written more with a beginner in mind, so it may not be advanced enough for what moneypenny02 is looking for, but you may find it helpful.

Regarding your 250dpi photos, I think you may want to check out my post on resolution and dpi. I think my post will clear up what can be a pretty confusing subject.